Germany
Amid growing criticism of the company’s handling of fires at two German nuclear plants, Vattenfall Europe’s CEO resigned Wednesday. Government leaders meanwhile mulled the future of atomic energy.
DW-World 18th July 2007 more >>
German Economy Minister Michael Glos has defended the country’s nuclear power stations, saying that even the oldest ones are ahead of the rest of the world in terms of security, despite recent incidents at two Vattenfall Europe AG sites.
Interactive Investor 18th July 2007 more >>
North Korea
The latest round of six-party talks over North Korea’s nuclear programme opened in Beijing on Wednesday with “very useful and business-like” discussions, according to the chief US negotiator, after North Korea shut down all its known nuclear facilities.
FT 19th July 2007 more >>
North Korea has shut down all five nuclear facilities at its main Yongbyon complex says the head of the International Atomoc Energy Agency.
Channel 4 News 18th July 2007 more >>
New Scientist 18th July 2007 more >>
US
All Americans love a good comeback story, but there are serious concerns that Nuclear Power II will not address Americas energy supply problems.
Climate Change Corporation 19th July 2007 more >>
Japan
The nuclear mishap which resulted from the Japanese earthquake has unleashed a wave of concern about the safety of nuclear technology.
Mathaba 19th July 2007 more >>
The world’s biggest nuclear power station faces an uncertain future after it emerged yesterday that it may lie directly above the fault line that triggered Monday’s earthquake in which nine people died and more than 1,000 were injured.
Guardian 19th July 2007 more >>
The world’s biggest nuclear power plant may be shut for more than a year for safety checks after an earthquake in Japan caused radiation leaks, prompting speculation of power shortages and prompting a run on the firm’s shares.
Reuters 19th July 2007 more >>
Interactive Investor 19th July 2007 more >>
Daily Mail 18th July 2007 more >>
The world’s biggest nuclear power station stands directly above an active earthquake faultline, which provoked an atomic spill this week, seismologists revealed yesterday. The disclosure that the Kashiwazaki plant was prone to further earthquake damage threw Japan’s nuclear industry into crisis as seismologists recommended that up to a third of the country’s 55 atomic power stations should be closed for inspection.
Times 19th July 2007 more >>
The world’s biggest nuclear power station in Japan was shut indefinitely yesterday after its operator admitted a larger leak of nuclear waste in an earthquake than previously disclosed. The mayor of Kashiwazaki ordered the seven-reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station closed until its safety could be confirmed following Monday’s 6.8-magnitude quake, in which low-level nuclear waste spilt into the sea.
Telegraph 19th July 2007 more >>
Scotsman 19th July 2007 more >>
A Japanese nuclear power plant was ordered to stay closed until safety was assured after an earthquake caused radiation leaks, prompting the U.N. nuclear watchdog to say the operator had misjudged the risks.
Reuters 18th July 2007 more >>
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the world’s largest nuclear plant on Monday, causing a transformer fire. Since then, revelations have been coming out about spills and leaks at the plant.
Greenpeace International 18th July 2007 more >>
UKAEA
The multi-billion pound sell-off of the government’s nuclear power interests is picking up speed as ministers consider a possible sale of a stake in the UK Atomic Energy Authority – the nuclear research and decommissioning body. A spokeswoman for UKAEA on Wednesday said that ministers were considering whether to sell part of the state-owned group.
FT 19th July 2007 more >>
Europe
The European Commission has announced plans to establish a high-level group for nuclear safety and waste management. The group will develop a common understanding and will reinforce common approaches in nuclear installation safety.
Energy Business Review 18th July 2007 more >>
Radiation and health
RATES of leukaemia are higher in children and young people living near nuclear plants, a review of several studies has concluded. Death rates for children aged nine and under were up to 24 per cent higher, depending on how near they lived to nuclear facilities, the report said. Researchers reviewed 17 different studies, including seven from the UK, carried out between 1984 and 1999, to compile the statistics. The other studies came from Canada, France, Germany, the United States, Japan and Spain.
Scotsman 19th July 2007 more >>
The new work, published in the European Journal of Cancer Care, has analysed the results of 17 previous reports, three of them Scottish, to get a more robust scale of study.
Herald 19th July 2007 more >>
24Dash 18th July 2007 more >>
The Sun 18th July 2007 more >>
Belfast Telegraph 18th July 2007 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
A DEADLY atomic cloud could have engulfed 10 million people in Reading and the South East at any point during the eight years US nuclear missiles were stored at Greenham Common. That is the shocking conclusion unearthed in previously unseen Ministry of Defence (MoD) documents from 1980.
Reading Evening Post 18th July 2007 more >>